When Should You Choose IFNULL Over COALESCE in MySQL?

What is the Performance Comparison between IFNULL and COALESCE in MySQL?

In MySQL, there are two commonly used functions for handling null values: IFNULL and COALESCE. Given the knowledge that two values might be the only candidates, it's common to utilize these functions to retrieve a non-null result. However, a question arises regarding the performance difference between these functions when the desired outcome is the same.

One article suggests that IFNULL is faster; however, extensive research has not yielded any additional information. Therefore, it's advisable to conduct benchmarking specific to your use case to determine which function suits your performance requirements best.

It's important to consider that a single benchmark might reveal one function to be marginally superior, but this result could fluctuate with changes in the underlying data. Additionally, COALESCE is part of the SQL standard, while IFNULL is not yet.

For further insight, you can refer to an article by Adam Machanic that assesses a similar scenario, highlighting the importance of carefully establishing test parameters before drawing conclusions.

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